This is the perfect time to escape into an animated wonderland full of friendly woodland creatures. If only we could all be Tim Heidecker: the comedian turned musical comedian does exactly that in the new video for “Property,” which you can watch below. The song, from Heidecker’s recent Fear of Death album, is a wry, Newman-esque riff on how cemeteries will inevitably be repurposed into commercial or residential real estate so that developers can make a buck, and honestly, that probably feels too optimistic at this point, given that the ever accelerating climate crisis will probably torch this whole earth before anybody can plop some condos down on those graveyards. The video, directed by James Hankins, sees an overly joyful Heidecker frolicking through an animated world, dressed like a ‘70s singer-songwriter in the early ‘80s, when the hits were gone but the cocaine more there than ever. You can also catch Heidecker’s collaborator Weyes Blood floating by in a crystal ball a couple of times.
In a press release, Hankins explains the inspiration for “Property”:
“The original idea for the video was really quite simple – let’s have Tim inside his album cover. Then I guess I got a bit carried away! The artist Alfie Dwyer and I worked closely together throughout the process going back and forth with sketches and suggestions. In order to make some sort of sense of it all I ended up drawing us a little map of this place we had created so we could visually connect the different zones to one another and help us understand how Tim would exist in there. With the ongoing covid mess and the constant stream of awful news it was actually really fun to escape the real world for a couple of weeks. Genuinely felt like a nice holiday!”
Also, Fear of Death is now out on cassette tape. You can order it here and finally listen to Heidecker’s latest on the go via your Walkman or shoulder-mounted boombox. It comes with a signed postcard—a must for every discerning Heidecker fan. Meanwhile the vinyl release is still on track for December 11.
Check out this goofball business below, and then go read our review to find out why we called Fear of Death one of September’s best albums.
